Sunday, October 23, 2011

Why I Fail at Zelda

I love Zelda, I really do. I follow news about the latest games, look at screenshots, and watch trailers. I even show all of these things to my girlfriend, who first played Zelda back on her gameboy color while in elementary school. Despite all of this, I have only ever owned one zelda game before and I was bad at it, really bad.

Back in middle school, I got The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker for Gamecube. I liked the art style, the gameplay, and even managed to put up with having to sail around on a boat for long stretches of time with little to do. I loved the game, but I never got very far and I died ALL THE TIME. Eventually, frustration set in and I never played the game again.

Currently, my girlfriend has The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for her DS. I have only tried playing twice and failed each time. I got stumped in a stealth sequence where you have to sneak past some guards and escape a castle. Ten-year-old kids could handle this, but I couldn’t. Of course, occasionally my girlfriend gets stuck and feels lame when she has to refer to a game guide to get help, but she doesn’t know that really, I am the lame one.

Despite my struggles, I recognize the series as being instrumental to Nintendo’s success over the years and I know it has brought joy (and frustration) to millions of people. I remain excited about everything Zelda, but I have accepted that it is not my cup of gaming tea. Perhaps one day, my future kids will experience the joy of winning a Zelda boss battle, something which I have never felt. Only time will tell.